


Monster Hunter

by Bloodpatternblue



Series: Monster Hunter series [1]
Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, B+V, Bulma and Vegeta - Freeform, Bulma and Vegeta AU, DBZ, Dragon Ball Z Alternate Universe, F/M, Lemon, Lime, Vegebul
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-08-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:54:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22827505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bloodpatternblue/pseuds/Bloodpatternblue
Summary: Monsters, mythological beasts and things that go bump in the night are all his specialty. These are the adventures of Vegeta the Monster Hunter.Fluffy, lemony packed adventure.
Relationships: Bulma Briefs/Vegeta
Series: Monster Hunter series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1823923
Comments: 36
Kudos: 76





	1. Prologue

**Monster Hunter  
Prologue**   
  


Vegeta held the crossbow up to his eye level, focusing his vision to the spot he was going to tear apart. He aimed at the beasts throat and released the arrow, it flew through the air with a whistle, shredding through the thick layers of black mangy fur, skin and flesh, then finally splitting the creatures air passage.  
Vegeta stood strong, not moving even a millimetre as the beast was still in inertia. The body of the beast came lunging forward toward him. The huge body began to trip and fall under its own weight. The chest of the beast was rising and collapsing as the last bit of oxygen left the creatures organs. Slowly choking, Vegeta listened as the last little gaggle could be heard. Only then had it finally stopped moving.   
  
Vegeta let out a soft, almost silent sigh. His attention and senses had been on the job at hand, it all happened so fast he could only take in the visual information of the beast. Now, however, he realised they had been behind him wailing. He turned back to look at the group of women, they were huddled in a group on the muddy ground, shielding their vision of the scene in front of them.   
  
Vegeta sighed again. 

* * *

“We were coming back from the markets in Teamor, and we cut through the woods…”   
The smaller girl of the four said, trying not to look at the man they were explaining to.

“It was following us, we didn’t know what to do, we got scared and ran away…” another said.

“But that only made it chase us, if it wasn’t for him… We wouldn’t have…” 

The eldest of the group said through tears..

The group of villagers all turned to see Vegeta, leaning up against a house, he looked over at the group and smirked. It had been months since he had gotten a decent job, it would seem his luck was changing. He had just randomly stumbled upon the girls running for their lives.

“You have a nest nearby, it seems they have taken up residence in your woods. I can get rid of them, for a price of course…” Vegeta said, slightly shrugging and offering up his hands to show he meant no harm to anyone.

In his experience, the less dangerous he appeared, the better his high rate as a demon hunter was. Go figure. The group of people started to chat among themselves, turning back to look at Vegeta, then continuing to discuss what he had just said. It was obvious they did not trust him, even though he had just saved these lasses lives.

“Bullocks, it was probably just some bear, out of hibernation looking for food. This mug is just trying to swindle us” A man said, crossing his arms over his chest and staring back at Vegeta.

Vegeta’s smirk turned to a scowl, they meant to not pay him at all. He turned his back on the group of villagers and reached down beside him to a sack he had been carrying. Without looking back, he reached into the sack, grabbed a handful of blackish-green fur and threw it back over his head with one arm. The creatures head went flying, blood and flesh scattered all around the dirt walkways of the village. It splattered in the middle of the villagers. The women screamed and some of the men bent over to hurl up their last meal. The creature had a frozen look of terror on its face, as Vegeta’s weapon and his black eyes were the last thing the creature had seen before it had stopped breathing. The eyes of the beast were once blood red, but were now cloudy and dead. They weren’t going for the “I’m a friendly hunter just wanting to help” attitude. So the dark truth it was.

“It wasn’t a bear, it was a hellhound. Your folklore's call them many things, but make no mistake, they will be back in revenge for this one, for your children's and women’s flesh and to spread their disgusting diseases. As I mentioned before, I am in the monster hunting business.” Vegeta said as he brought out his crossbow from the holster on his back, also giving the villagers a flash of his belt, adorned with a variety of potions and knives.

“Vegeta is my name. And I will take a payment of 200 gold pieces for this one and the girls' lives, which might I remind you, had I not acted would have suffered a brutal death. Plus a further 500 gold pieces for the remainder of the job, then I will rid you of your hellhound problem.” He said loading the crossbow with a devilish grin plastered on his face.


	2. Hunter and the mage

**Monster Hunter  
Chapter 1**   
Hunter and the Mage

  
  


In a little white, green, light brown and pink shop, in the middle of a bustling port town, a young blue haired woman opened up the shades of the windows. She walked around and opened the front shop door, the doorbell rang with a delightful little jingle.    
Bulma looked around the street while shading her eyes from the morning sun. A boy on a bike rode past waving, Bulma smiled and waved back. She had been in the seaside town for a year now. She finally found somewhere she could slow down and settle in. Her life before this town had been hectic and chaotic. She was happy to step back and live a simpler life.    
After greeting her neighbours she walked back into her little medicinal store. She supplied the townsfolk with potions and topic creams for all kinds of ailments. Every few months she would travel to collect plants and herbs for her stock, but apart from these trips, she would stay in her cute little cottage store, in the middle of town.   
Bulma actually had another skill, one that she did not share with anyone in this little town. She could use magic, and often used it to make her product stronger and to have healing powers. Her little shop was very busy from the moment she opened in the morning until late at night. People came from neighbouring towns for her products, to help their sick loved ones, to buy a potion to help them land a new job, to travel sickness and pregnancy nutritional supplements. They came for a variety of reasons and issues, but they all came with high recommendations. Her stuff really worked.   
  
“Good morning Bulma, did the new shipment come in?” An older gentleman asked her as they walked into her shop together.  
  
The store was small, but stock full of everything that one could ever need, drying herbs, potions, balms, medical tools and everything in between.  
  
“Yes Jacob it did, could you take it down to the hospital for me?” She asked with a smile.  
  
“It would be my pleasure, I’m heading down there to see my wife today” He explained.  
  
“How is she? Feeling better?” Bulma inquired as she handed him a basket of her homemade soap.  
  
“Yes, thank you for that rub. Her skin is clearing up more and more each day. She will be coming home soon!” He shouted, waving as he exited the store.  
  
“That’s great news! Take care!” She yelled after him.  
  
Bulma smiled to herself and quickly stepped out the back of the store to bring out some more merchandise that she had completed over the night. Two big baskets full of a new experimental additive to put into water, making it clean to drink. It worked out better than she had ever thought possible.   
  
_ Ding, ding, ding.  
  
_ She stepped back out into the store, the two big baskets obstructing her view slightly from telling who entered the store next.   
  
“Hi there!” She announced from behind her product.   
  
Bulma heard boots slapping the wooden floors as the person approached her. Bulma put the baskets down on the counter and looked back up into a set of black eyes she immediately recognised. The outfit and smell gave him away too.  
  
“No!” She yelled and waved her hand in a gesture for the person to leave.  
  
“Now Bulma, don’t be like that. Is that how you greet your old friend?” Vegeta smirked, leaning down onto her counter.  
  
“You’re no friend! Get out of here! I don’t want the shit-storm that follows you, to drown me here too!” Bulma spat through a clenched jaw, flinging her arms around in anger.  
  
Vegeta chuckled while he stood back up, folding his arms. He watched Bulma as she pushed back the hair that had fallen out of place from her mini melt down. She took a deep breath and composed herself. Vegeta thought he’d give her a few moments to calm herself before it layed it out for her, she hadn’t changed.  
  
“I have a proposition for you, and this time it will not turn to shit, I promise” Vegeta said reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a full, fat coin purse.  
  
He dropped it onto the counter, making a loud metallic slap as he did so. He stepped back, folding his arms again. He heard her mumble something about promises under her breath as she considered the purses size. Her eyes betraying her and revealing some of the truth.  
  
“The rest when we finish the job” he offered raising an eyebrow.  
  
That coin purse would have been more than she would make in her shop in a year, not to mention the bigger one waiting on the other side of the dangerous quest he was probably deeply involved in. Bulma sighed hard. She had left this life a year ago and never looked back, but Vegeta had a way of finding her, just as she was getting comfortable.   
  
“Why now? I just want to be left…” She started but stopped.  
  
“Alone?” Vegeta finished her sentence, looking out a small window to the right of him.   
  
The street was bustling with people, going about their day, saying hello to each other. Bulma fiddled with her hands and sighed again. There were many people in this town, but none, he mused, knew who she really was and what she was capable of. No one did, except for him.  
  
“I like it here, I really do” Bulma’s eyes met Vegeta’s.  
  
He saw a glance that he recognised. Bulma would never be satisfied with this life. The quiet little shop keeper.  
  
“How long has it been since you used your FULL potential? Don’t you care for the truth anymore? What is this comfortable little life you’ve made?” Vegeta asked, moving back toward the counter.  
  
Bulma shrugged, trying to conceal her true feelings. Acting as if what he asked wasn’t something she thought about every night before she fell asleep and every morning after she woke.  
  
“I don’t need that life anymore Vegeta, I have all I need here” She tried to smirk.  
  
Vegeta leered at her, unconvinced. He reached down and took the coin purse back off the counter.  
  
“I leave in the morning, if you decide you want to live the truth again, and leave this…this place of pure hell” He flashed her disapproving look, waving his hands around her store. “Meet me outside the town’s northern exit on the side of the road at sunrise.”  
  
He looked her in the eyes once more and turned on his heels, walking back out of her store.

* * *

Vegeta’s horse snorted as he fixed the saddle up tight and gave it a bit of a tug. He ran his hand over the beasts neck. Comforting and reassuring the creature.

Bulma had not shown up, the sun had risen completely into the sky now. He had waited in a hopefully wish a little longer for her to appear, But it seemed she had fled from doing what she really wanted to out of fear. It disappointed him, he really could have used her skills on his next hunt. He was investigating a possible werewolf. Fearsome creatures, capable of alluding, manipulating and trapping him into a deadly corner. Usually these kinds of reports turned into someone who enjoyed killing people and consuming their flesh, and others were just innocent people being accused. He had never actually seen a werewolf, at least not in its transformed state.    
Bulma made a very effective bomb of scents that attracted such a creature. She had been taught this recipe from her elders when she was young, but it had to be prepared fresh as it would not last more than a few days before it became ineffective. He really could have used that aid on this trip.  
  
Vegeta jumped up onto his horse. Finally ready to leave on his adventure and to leave the mage, Bulma, behind for good.  
  
“Looks like it is just you and me” He said kicking his legs to encourage the horse forward.  
  
As Vegeta focused ahead of him, he noticed a figure on a horse coming toward him. The bright morning sun behind him was casting them in shadow, completely unrecognizable to Vegeta. He waited and listened to the horse clopping toward their direction. He shielded his eyes from the sun's light, trying to get a better look at the person ahead of him. As the horse approached him, the sun began to sink behind the figure.  
  
“Just some last minute foraging” Bulma called out to him, swinging a handful of freshly plucked plants.  
  
Vegeta smirked.


	3. Transformation

**Monster Hunter  
Chapter 2**   
Transformation  


Bulma sang out in glee as the cold, clean, fresh water engulfed her skin. It had been a long time since she was free enough to bathe in a stream like this, an unadulterated pleasure. She washed her skin with a bar of lavender soap she had handcrafted. Bulma had been on horseback for 10 hours a day and she had been sleeping out under the stars each night for almost a week. This was the first stream that was wide and deep enough for her to properly emerge herself in. This clean feeling was exactly what she needed after the rough ride on the back of a horse. The slick suds of her soap were sliding down her skin and washing downstream in the water. She dropped down into the water, further exploring and obliging her body. The feeling was so relaxing she closed her eyes for a moment.   
  
“Yes, I think I want that feeling too” Vegeta said from behind her.

He was already down to his underwear when she spun around. Her face instantly flashed red as he began to slide his hands under the thin material. Bulma spun back around and threw her arms around her body.

“Vegeta! Can’t a girl get a little privacy?! How much did you see?” Bulma squealed as he jumped into the water, splashing her with his wake.

Vegeta came up out of the water, taking a deep breath. Bulma looked around over her shoulder at him, he was smirking at her while running his hands through his hair. His body was on damn fire, the sunlight coming through the trees made his muscles glisten.   
  
“HA! Since when are you shy Bulma Briefs?” Vegeta asked smugly.

“Excuse me, I am a lady, and you will treat me as such!” Bulma bit back.

Vegeta just laughed as he sunk into the water, slowly swimming around to face Bulma. She was avoiding his eye contact and blushing hard. 

“A lady?” Vegeta asked her audaciously.

Bulma shot a fiery look at him. Pressing a button in him that he hadn’t felt in a long time. This felt like old times, he had grown up with the seductive mage and he had watched her mature and flourish. But when it came to pressing her buttons, not much had changed. Bulma’s expression melted from anger to a composed demeanor, as if she had figured out he was baiting her. He did always enjoy poking her and took pleasure in her reactions.

“I am a lady Vegeta, regardless of whether you have ever met one or not!” Bulma huffed at him.

Vegeta heartly laughed.

“Indeed” He chuckled.

“And don’t get any funny ideas!” Bulma snapped at him, dipping lower into the water to try and hide as much as herself as she could.

“Don’t be crass woman! I needed to bathe, that is all!” Vegeta barked turning from her.

Bulma couldn’t stop the smile that tried to push through her lips. It seemed the tides had turned.

“Oh did the little monster hunter just realise he was naked in a female's company?” Bulma purred.

She saw his body visual tense up as she teased him. He swung his head to the side.

“Don’t be ridiculous… Vulgar woman!” rumbled.

“Vulgar?!” Bulma wailed.

She threw her soap bar at the back of his head, he grabbed the impact zone and spun around just as a barrage of water was coming at him. By the time he had regained his eyesight, that he had lost in the soaking, Bulma was already on the shore. Her full and appealing bottom dazzling in the midday sun. 

* * *

It was an unusually dark night as Vegeta walked back over from feeding the horses, Bulma heard him coming by the sound of his leather boots crunching grass under him. His body and face became illuminated by the fire as he stepped out of the darkness. Bulma turned away from him quickly, she was still pissed at his interruption of her bath and subsequent insult to her character.

He came and sat by the fire, to her side. Bulma was laying on her stomach, cuddling up to blankets as she watched the fire. All she saw was his boots.They both sat a while in silence, watching the rhythm of the fire.   
  
“You never told me why you left” Bulma finally spoke, staring into the flames.

Vegeta didn’t budge at her question, not even a breath. The flames popped from pressure in the wood. She clenched her hand into a fist.  
  
“You could have said something to me Vegeta, anything, I looked for you for months”  
  
Bulma was about to turn her head to look at him when she heard rustling in the bushes behind them.

“What was th…” She started.

“Quiet” Vegeta softly hissed at her, he was already on his feet.

Bulma looked up at him. Vegeta was searching into the darkness behind them, slowly reaching for his weapon that had been resting on a log beside Bulma. The anxiety started to build up in her, he was grabbing his weapon, what did he think it was?

She swung around to stare at the treeline behind them. She couldn’t see anything, but she sure could feel it. It was watching them. That feeling was so instinctual it made her spine crawl with fear. She shot up.

“Bulma, it’s a bear. Create a noise, quickly, the louder the better.” Vegeta commanded.

“Right” she breathed out, swinging her attention to the fire. 

She saw three large pots, they had used them to cook meat from rabbits that had been caught earlier in the day. They had been careful to only find enough food for the night, to stop this exact scenario from happening, it looks like they had failed.    
She raised her hands and chanted. The pots exploded together and sounded out like thunder. Vegeta quickly threw his cape out beside him, making him instantly seem twice as large. He howled as deep and loud as he could. Bulma smashed the pans once more, ringing out an ear piercing bang. They heard branches being snapped as a large animal could be heard moving away from them. Bulma let out a sigh of relief as she lowered the pans.   
Vegeta turned around at her, his face illuminated by the flames.   
  
“That was close” She murmured, shaking and smiling at him.   
  
“I will track it in the morning, when I have the advantage. Let’s hope it was enough to keep it away for the night” Vegeta said to her as he finally put down his crossbow.

* * *

Vegeta had left well before she had awoken, neither of them slept very well. Bulma was sure that Vegeta didn’t sleep even for a moment. He kept watch over her all night. She felt herself growing hot, her cheeks on fire.   
Vegeta had abandoned her, for what seemed a lifetime ago. But before that, they had been close. He had protected her many times. It felt nice to be watched over by him once more. Although he would never admit that protecting her was what he was doing. He never gave her much of anything, he let his actions speak for him.

  
Bulma looked around their small temporary camp. Everything was packed and ready for Vegeta’s return, except some clothes of hers. She wanted to wash them before they moved on, but they would not dry in time, so she had just hung them up on some low hanging branches away from the camp, in the sunlight. It would be better than nothing.   
Bulma walked down the slight incline toward the trees. The sun hit her skin and warmed every part of her. The days were getting longer with each spin of the earth. As she trotted down to her clothes, her thoughts were interrupted by Vegeta’s loud growls, coming from behind her. 

She turned around, and began stepping backwards as she tried to make out what he was saying. He was waving his weapon in the air.

“I can’t hear you…” Bulma sung out to him, waving back.

“BULMA!” She managed to hear him this time.

She stopped, something had occurred to her. Vegeta always had a cool demeanor, she rarely saw him rattled. He was flailing his arms around, trying to get her attention. It was unusual, except for in times where he didn’t know if he could fight against something threatening him… Or her.   
She turned around, right in time to see it come out of the woods. The big brown muscular bear advanced out into the clearing, foaming at the mouth, it watched Bulma as it began circling her. Bulma stood frozen in fear. This was what Vegeta was trying to tell her. He had tracked the bear, right back to her.   
The bear stood on its hind legs, towering over any man who ever lived. It began to roar at her when she felt the arrow shoot past her face. It punctured into the beasts shoulder, blood spurting out of the wound. The impact sent it backwards and down back onto all fours. It yelped in pain and slightly retreated.    
Vegeta was by her side in an instant. 

“Get back” He demanded.

“Let me help you, I’ve never seen one this big!” Bulma pushed.

“GET BACK!” Vegeta yelled again, shoving her behind him.   
  
The Bear, regaining its focus, swatted the arrow out of its fur with its huge paw. Looking back toward them. It’s face was dead cold, nothing was behind the black eyes. It was like an empty shell, capable of ripping them apart in a single swipe. 

It began it’s assault as Vegeta raised his weapon, firing again and aiming for its head. But the bear moved out of the way, dodging his shot. The beast came bounding toward them, like an unstoppable projectile. Vegeta stomped his feet into place, he could not reload now. He was going to take the impact head on.    
Bulma ran a few steps back and to the side of Vegeta, raising her arms as she went. Her powers shot out a gush of compressed air from her hands. The volley of power flew past Vegeta and came straight at the bear. It impacted the bear in the head and shoulders, sending it flying. But the impact was merely a few second distraction as the creature shook it off and it resumed its stampede toward Bulma.    
  
“BULMA!” Vegeta shouted.

He began to try and intercept the beast. But it was too fast. The huge mass moving at what seemed like lightning speed. Bulma could barely shield herself before it was on her. The bear raised a huge paw and swiped her, contacting her left shoulder.    
The sound was deafening, her bones cracked under the force. Bulma let out a colossal scream as she fell onto her right shoulder. Her vision went white, the pain made it seem like time had stopped. All she could feel was the pain, and she couldn’t register it all at once. She knew it was bad, her whole left side was numb, her body was trying to send help. Her vision began to come back online as she looked up, the beast was above her, more enormous than it had ever looked. She shut her eyes waiting for the next impact.

The bear went for another swipe, it roared as it moved back onto its hind legs and it raised its huge arm. But something interrupted the creatures' movement. An arm, just as sizable, had grabbed the creatures paw. Another arm pumped into the beast's side, winding the creature.    
Bulma opened her eyes, wondering why she had not been pummeled again. Her eyes widened as she looked up at the scene before her.    
  


Vegeta was transformed, his body was almost completely black, the colour was racing to cover him like some kind of plague. He was almost twice his height and size as he had been before. His muscles had increased to an outrageous level, like a giant he looked like a mountain. Horns were protruding from his head and veins almost popping out of his skin all over his body. His eyes were wide and bright yellow like a demon.

  
Bulma screamed.


	4. Basilisk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I have had to catch up on study and assignments (adult student here), as well as work more and longer hours due to the current climate.  
> I have a bit of time to catch up on writing, hopefully to give you all something to read during this weird ass time!
> 
> I hope you enjoy :)

**Monster Hunter  
Chapter 3**

_ Basilisk _

Every trot of his loyal steed sent a bolt of pain through his body. The transformation alone tore at muscles and tendons as his body shifted and grew, not to mention the damage the unusually massive bear had inflicted on him. It would take over a week for him to feel somewhat normal again, and it had only been half a day at this point. He had a long recovery ahead of him.   
He hated that it had come to the use of such demonic power, but he gave in to it, the monster and its disgusting call for blood and gore. He had no other choice than to depend on it in the moment. He released it once he saw the bear going for Bulma. He had screamed at her to stay back, but she did not heed his words and got involved, contributing to him having to use the darkness he had acquired. He was bitter that his hand was forced.

“You can’t just… just ignore this forever!” Bulma finally blurted out, she had been quiet since leaving their camp. 

Vegeta was motionless, he let his pain drown her voice out. No way was he getting into a discussion with her now, it would solve nothing and possibly even stall his plans. She would be told the truth once he had what he needed in his hand. If he could just ignore her prodding until then, the plan may still work.

“First you turn up after years of being missing, and now this?” She threw her arms up in the air, scaring her horse a little.

“Calm yourself woman, or you will scare the horses!” Vegeta growled.

_ Fuck! _

“I’ll scare the horses? You just turned into… into…. Well I have no clue what! Vegeta what is going on?” She shrieked at him.

Vegeta closed his eyes, clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on his horse. She continued to throw questions at him. Her voice was getting louder and more ear piercing as he ignored her barrage.

_ Do not engage! _

All he needed to do was finish this job, and he would have what he needed to cure himself for good. If he could just manage to get it done without revealing anything to her, without transforming again. He could fix this.

“Are you listening to me Vegeta?!” He heard Bulma bellow behind him.

  
Silence.

“I deserve some answers! This is ridiculous, how long will you pretend nothing happened?! For god's sake Vegeta, you turned into a monster!” Bulma spat out, she immediately grabbed at her mouth in regret, trying to get the words back in and down her throat from where they escaped.

Vegeta’s horse stopped, he slowly turned around to face her. His face was screwed up in anger to the likes of which she had never seen.    
  
“A monster?” He repeated softly with venom in his voice.

“I...I didn't.. I’m so sorry” Bulma meekly replied, she couldn’t look him in the eye.

Vegeta was staring at her with a wild look in his eyes. He just turned around from her on his horse and slapped it into a gallop.

“Wait Vegeta! I didn’t mean it, please wait!” She cried out after him.

She fumbled around with her horse's reins and tried to follow after him. But he was too quick and she lost him within moments.

* * *

Bulma searched for Vegeta all along the main road. She rode her horse up and back a handful of times, in the case that she missed a turn off or an unbeaten path. However, it was growing dark. She became more and more frantic as the light started to disappear. The nearest town would be half a day's ride away, she had worked out. She had to camp out, alone.

The horse snorted and neighed at the sounds of the woods around them. Bulma shook nervously, the horse was sensing her unease at their current situation, while she felt the presence of the highly alert beast beside her, and it made her more jumpy. They were both feeding off the others anxiety, spiraling into a horrible bubble of fear.   
She was accustomed to camping out alone, especially when she went on tours to gather stock for her shop. But this place, this part of the world was unknown. She had no idea if it was safe to sleep out in the open, or if she should seek shelter of some kind. Were there bandits? Kidnappers? Monsters? She knew nothing of the area.   
  
_ Crack _

“Who is that?” Bulma called out in fear, her voice shaky.   
  
She saw slithering movement behind her as she scanned her surroundings. Something was out there, watching her, following her at every turn. Her skin was covered in goosebumps, her whole body was on edge. Her legs were getting ready to run, as she swung around trying to follow the visual activities going on around her.

She was barely able to let out a scream before the leathery creature was on her.   
  


* * *

  
  


Vegeta bent down and investigated the marks in the dirt. A struggle had definitely happened between three people, and something else he couldn’t identify. The markings were not something he had ever seen before. The horse, however, had fled the scene, but it appeared that someone had followed it on horseback. 

_ What have I done? _

Vegeta clenched his fist and smacked it down on his thigh. He was angry with his actions and his unwillingness to let her in, again. He was so afraid of her thinking he was now a monster. But he couldn’t bring himself to leave, he had turned back around to try and meet back up with Bulma. He needed her, he was so close to fixing this.

Vegeta’s head came up with the rest of his body, a look of determination had spread across his face. He had let her down by running away from her, and running from the answers she needed of him. He had made a massive error.

Vegeta slipped his left foot into the stirrup of his horse and swung himself up into the saddle. As Vegeta mounted his horse and with a swift movement of his arms and legs, the horse galloped into action. Taking them both toward where Bulma had been taken.

_ I need to make this right! Please don’t be too late! _

* * *

Bulma sat with her legs to the side, her wrists tied together and a muzzle across her face. She was careful about how she looked around the men's camp. The creature was surveying and guarding the camps borders. Shrubs and grass withering in a poisonous death as it moved over them.    
  
_ Where the hell did they get that damn monster from?  _ Bulma thought to herself as she swallowed hard.   
  
She had only ever seen them in books and in paintings. Never had she seen one in the flesh, she was not sure if its gaze was truly deadly or not. But she did not plan to find out. These men were barely strong enough to get her to comply on their own. How could they be controlling such a thing?   
  
The aura around the camp shifted and her anxiety suddenly grew from the depths of her core. Bulma looked up, eyes widened.    
Vegeta was crouched in the bushes ahead of her, staring into her eyes as if trying to convey a message to her. It was as if she had materialised him in front of her, how did he always manage to hear her silent calls?    
She started to panic, he didn’t know what these mages had in their control. Her captors had thankfully, not noticed Vegeta yet. But it was only a matter of time before they, or the monster, did. She started to move her face around, trying to figure out how to un-muzzle herself without directing attention to herself. She had to warn him.   
  
Bulma looked back toward Vegeta, but he had already made his move. He had changed his position, he was going for the two men who had tied Bulma up. Through short sharp breaths, Bulma tried to scream and get free. She had to try something, anything. She needed to warn Vegeta about the monster guarding the camp, that was under some sort of spell. The same magic that trapped her into submission now.   
The comotion she made managed to make the two men face her, so their backs were turned away from Vegeta. Giving him the opening he was looking for.   
  
The two men looked at Bulma with disdain and annoyance. They managed to only make a step toward her before they were aware of Vegeta behind them. He had silently emerged from his cover in the bushes. But his presence was hard to ignore. 

“Looks like the cretin took our bait, Marlow” The shorter of the two men said with a slight grin.

_ Bait? _ Bulma thought as she considered what the man had just revealed.

The taller, stockier man began to laugh as he raised his hand and flung his fingers toward Vegeta.    
Bulma, shaking thoughts from her mind, kicked herself into gear and summoned all of her powers to her own hands, bringing up a gust of wind. Pushing away the magic that contained her and she managed to get up onto her knees, the muzzle coming free in her magical defensive spell.   
  
“VEGETA! THEY ARE CONTROLLING A BASILISK!” She screamed, her hands finally breaking free.

Bulma watched as Vegeta hardly had time to register what had happened before the snake was on him, a sinister yellow light glowing in the darkness.


	5. Wendigo

**Monster Hunter  
Chapter 4**   
_ Wendigo _   
  
  
  


“VEGETA! THEY ARE CONTROLLING A BASILISK!” She screamed, her hands finally breaking free.   
  


Vegeta’s eyes swung to the location of movement he detected beside him. A large snake-like creature came out from the darkness, a yellow glow illuminating around its face.

_ The eyes! _ _   
_ _   
_ Vegeta flipped backwards on his hands, landing behind some bush coverage. In the same motion he grabbed out two long knives from his waist belt.    
He had only basic knowledge of a basilisk, but he was not about to test the theory of their gaze. He would have to blind the creature before taking it out.   
  
He heard a scream come from the direction Bulma was in.   
_   
_ _ Shit _

Vegeta was pinned down by the snake, he couldn’t go to her rescue this time. He would barely be able to keep the monster at bay, she would have to manage without him.   


* * *

  
Bulma struggled with her restraints. The two mages that had captured her were moving toward her now. She had barely enough power to un-muzzle herself. She could not defend herself without the use of her arms.   
The two men were painfully aware of her weakness. Most mages needed to have movement in order to flow the magic through their bodies, almost like a dance or ritual. Tying her up was like cutting her off at the knees.    
  
_ Think Bulma, Think! _ _   
_ _   
_ Vegeta was behind the men, in the background, fighting off the ancient snake as best he could. The snake was using Vegeta’s weakened state to its advantage. While he was shielding his sight from the creature, it was landing hit after hit on him. Bulma cried out in frustration. It couldn’t end like this, not after all the danger they had been through in the past. These idiots would be no match if she could only get free.   
Her frustration was making it hard for her to mind skip through every spell she had ever come across. From her family teachings to her time at the mages academy.   
  
_ Yes, that’s it! _

Bulma looked around for the perfect object she needed to help her fulfill her plan. The men were upon her now, reaching down to grab her. A sharp rock beside her stuck out, and she immediately smashed her forehead against it. Creating a gushing stream of blood down her forehead. She began the incantation.

The two men, suspicious of Bulma’s extreme action, stepped backwards. But B ulma had finished the last word in her spell and looked up at the men. She realised they knew exactly what she was doing.    
  
“You cunt’s, you've heard this incantation before, haven't you?” 

Before the men could retreat anymore, she flung her body backwards and swung back around. Launching her blood at the men, covering their arms, chest and faces. They immediately began to wail in pain.

Bulma had, like many women who studied magic, ingested a particular mushroom on a regular basis. The mushroom began to deposit certain compounds into the body of the person ingesting it, It’s properties along with an incantation, turned her bodily fluid into a highly dangerous, acidic substance. Harming anyone who touched it. It was one of the most protective spells a female mage could learn, it was a last line of defense for the weaker sex but it came at a cost. There was only a certain amount of times the incantation could be activated until it turned their bodies acidic forever, slowly killing them from the inside out. Even this momentary spell would leave a scar on her forehead from the short moments she had transformed her blood into acid, then back again to stop her from injuring herself further.   
The men had obviously known about the spell, meaning they had in fact forced a woman to use the spell before. The knowledge did not save them though, they were too slow. As they fell to the ground, their flesh began to melt from their bodies which would cause their eventual deaths. Bulma closed her eyes as the blood from her forehead gash was partially blinding her. She wriggled herself over to the rock and began to cut the ropes she was trapped in.

* * *

The men's screams and wails only intensified Vegeta’s adrenaline. She had done it, now he could fight this snake without thinking of her.   
  
Vegeta opened his eyes, a pulsating feeling rocked through his body. He could feel the demon's possession bubbling to the surface again. He fought hard within himself to cool its insatiable hunger. His body would not cope with another transformation, let alone his mental state. It would consume him this time, he could not transform, it would end him.   
He slammed his fist into the ground, making loud vibrations to confuse the snake. Jumping back he swung his cape around his shoulder, partially blocking his peripheral sight. His body screaming out in pain with every movement.   
  
_ One strike, that's all I need! _   
  
The snake began moving again, slithering into some low scrub. It was going to conceal itself and smell out his vibrations. He jumped around facing the bush but looking at the ground, being careful not to look directly at it. He gripped his two knives tight, as he waited for the snake to strike. It was only moments before he saw it again, the yellow glow from the monster's eyes. He took in a sharp breath as it lunged from the shrubs toward his neck. Vegeta couldn’t look directly at the monster, meaning he could not properly evade the attack. He shut his eyes and tried to put his faith in his other instincts. It was then he felt the air pressure change beside his face as two knives screamed past his face. He opened his eyes in time to see two small blades penetrate the snake's eyes. Blinding it. The inertia of the snake hurled it toward him still.   


Vegeta’s knife drove into the snake's jaw as it came within reach, the blade pierced into its brain. The body went limp, and stopped moving all together. Both Vegeta and the serpent fell to the ground together, crumbling into each other's mass.    
  
Bulma ran over to Vegeta as she saw them fall, she pulled him out from underneath the giant snake.   
  
“You idiot!” Bulma sobbed and hit him softly.   
  
Vegeta cringed at her touch, every part of his body was on fire with pain.   
  
“Did you have to get kidnapped by goons with a basilisk? Of all creatures, woman… a basilisk?” Vegeta said.   
  
Bulma stopped a volley of colourful language escaping her lips, what followed was a deep hearty laugh.    
  
“What is so funny?” Vegeta asked.

Bulma just shook her head.   


“Can we just leave this place?” Vegeta asked.   
  
“On one condition” Bulma said.

Vegeta closed his eyes knowing exactly what she was requesting.   
  
“Fine, just get me out of here” 

* * *

Bulma put the mug full of mead down in front of Vegeta. He winced for a moment while he reached out for it.    
The lodge was bustling with loud, drunk voices and a minstrel singing a song on a small stage.  Drowning out anything the couple would say to each other.  
  
“You’ve had your fill of food, now tell me everything” Bulma said.   
  
Vegeta looked up at her and smirked.

“I guess you have earned it”    
  
Bulma shot him a look of irritation. Vegeta just chuckled to himself, enjoying her visible annoyance.   
  
“After I disposed of the trolls wreaking havoc in that small town in the west, many years ago, I heard of a job going on a haunted ship in one of the nearby ports.”    
  
Bulma nodded in understanding, sipping from her pint. She remembered the job, it had been their last together before he vanished.  
  
“Turns out it was just smallpox… But I was given free passage to a new land, one on the other side of the world. I thought it would be a good chance to check out a new surrounding and add some knowledge to my already enormous library”    
  
“And to find new people to hoodwink!” Bulma said.   
  
Vegeta just smirked.   
  
“It wasn’t long before I found work in a northern village, covered in snow. Reports of possession were too strong to ignore. So I went to investigate, but the local shaman, a spiritual leader of the native tribes, tried to warn me. He told me that one of the locals had become possessed by gluttony and selfishness itself.”    
  
Bulma looked up from her drink at him.   
  
“A wendigo” Vegeta said.   



	6. The possession and the cure

**Monster Hunter  
Chapter 5**

  
_The possession and the cure_

Vegeta put the mug down, splashing the alcohol a little.   
  
“A Wendigo?”    
  
“The monster has many names, just like a lot of the creatures I hunt. However, the native people describe it as a curse, as well as a possession.” Vegeta said.

“Possession? Like a werewolf, is it a type of shapeshifter? Or something else?” Bulma asked quickly, getting more intensely interested as the seconds went on.

Vegeta took another drink of his mead. Trying to find the words to describe it to her.   
  
“Let me tell you everything I know, and you can decide for yourself”    
  


* * *

  
Vegeta trudged through the snow, covering himself with animal skins, while also using sticks with ropes, woven into a circle and attached to his boots.   
He had wasted many months travelling on a boat with sick people. Making no coin. Now, determined to show a new continent his skills, and after a few lucky jobs in the south, he followed reports of possession. He figured it was probably a mixture of isolation and snow madness. The days were short, and the nights long this far up in the world. This fact and the snow that could cover the entire dwelling, it caused people to go crazy. The reports of cannibalism and the sheer gruesome scenes that followed made people fear going anywhere near these people.   
  
Possession.

Vegeta laughed internally to himself. Most of the time his job was just dealing with evil, mad people. Gone crazy for one reason or another. It was true, he rarely met with monsters. Of course, he did have to rid the world of evil on most jobs. But usually that evil was just a human.   
The local Shaman, a leader of the native tribe in the area, had tried to warn Vegeta. The old man had explained in a foreign language about the dangers of the evil he was going to confront, but through a translator, Vegeta warned the old shaman right back.    
  
_ “Any evil this world has to offer me, I will exterminate” _   
  
The old man, withered by the sun and time, just looked at Vegeta with sadness, even before the younger native boy could translate. He knew, Vegeta would not heed his warning.   
With a few more bits of information, how engaging in selfishness and greedy actions could turn you into a Wendigo. He warned Vegeta to keep clear of the Wendigo, or face becoming one himself, as it feasted on his flesh.    
After hearing all they had to tell him, Vegeta left their camp in search of the Wendigo.

He was now moving to the last known location of the monster after a terrible snow storm. Vegeta mused the man, who was the source of these rumours, was likely dead. Meaning he could pick up an easy paycheck.   
He neared an abandoned cabin, just as a man from the last outpost he bunkered up in, told him it would be. All dilapidated in its creepy glory. A perfect setting for a cannibalistic monster. He stopped for a moment, looking around the area. There were no tracks in and out of the vicinity that he could detect. It seemed the cabin was abandoned. He looked back over toward the site of the cabin.   
Then, the smell hit him.   
  


* * *

  
  
“It was like, a hundred week old dead corpses laying out in the summer heat. I could barely breathe through the stench” Vegeta said.

Bulma held her breath, scared she would smell it just by his description of it. She had smelt death before, too many times.   
  
“I couldn’t work out why I was smelling it, surely the snow cover and the freezing temperatures would have somewhat slowed down the decomposing body. I searched the area, trying to find its source” Vegeta said.   
  
“Oh god, it was real wasn’t it?” Bulma asked.

She was catching on fast, as usual.   
  
“The last thing I remember was seeing it stand tall from behind a nearby treeline. It was… was monstrous in size. Shaped like a man, but gruesome and tangled. I tried to run into the open, so I might have more space and a better chance of taking it on” Vegeta said.

Bulma gripped her mug in her hand, her knuckles going tight.   
  
“It took two maybe three steps and it was upon me, it swung a huge claw, rotting flesh covering its bones. It hit my side, breaking at least 3 ribs in the process. My vision went white with pain as my breath left my lungs” Vegeta said.   
  
“Oh god” Bulma whispered and covered her eyes.

“I remember the other claw coming down and it all went black. I woke up days later, in my own filth, gashes on my arms and stomach. I had no idea why I was still alive, or where I was. I barely got a look at the creature before it took me out, but I could feel the insatiable hunger from it. I was sure it would eat me whole” Vegeta said, draining the remainder of his mead.   
  
“Holy shit, did you find out what happened?” Bulma asked.

“No, none would come near me after I returned for help. They called me Wendigo, for those who survive the attack of one, become one” He said.

“You’re a Wendigo?”    
  
“Yes, as far as I can tell”   
  
Bulma looked down at her hands, trying to process this new information.   
  
“How is it cured?” Bulma finally said.

“I returned to the nearest port and sailed down south before the story of my possession could follow me. I enquired about the monster at many different academic institutions. But the foreigners were no help, so I returned to the native people, careful to cover my scars. It wasn’t until I met with an elder of a warrior tribe that I finally learnt of one ancient remedy. I had to eat the heart of a particular monster” Vegeta said.   
  
“A werewolf!”    
  
Vegeta chuckled.    
  
“Precisely, I was having trouble finding such a job on the new continent. So I returned” Vegeta said.   
  
“How likely is it, that this remedy is actually going to be effective?” Bulma asked.

Vegeta shrugged. Bulma laughed nervously. Next to none she guessed from his reaction.   
  
“You have trouble keeping it at bay don’t you?” she asked.

Vegeta scoffed.   
  
“Don’t take me for some common man, I am handling this” Vegeta said.   
  
“You dolt! This is beyond your capabilities!” Bulma said.   
  
“You wouldn’t understand my capabilities woman!” Vegeta said.   
  
Bulma’s face went red. She slammed down her fist.   
  
“Bastard, you come back after years of being away, you put this shit on me and tell me I don’t understand you and your capabilities!” She said.

“Listen woman, I don’t belong to you, I do as I please, without explanation and I go and come as I please” Vegeta said.   
  
“That’s crystal clear Vegeta” Bulma said before slamming the rest of her drink in his face.   
  
She stormed off before he had a chance to wipe away the mead. He growled at her disrespect and followed her. This was not over.   


* * *

  
  
Bulma’s head flushed with anger. How had the discussion gotten to that point. If she was honest, she was still mad at him for leaving her. She knew he would not be tied down, but they had helped and had each other’s back. Was he so thick that he couldn’t see she cared for him, she cared if he died or not. Did she not even at least deserve an explanation without contempt?   
Apparently not.   
  
She opened the door to their room, entered the room and slammed the door behind her. She paced inside the room, trying to collect her thoughts and calm herself down. She had agreed to come along with him, but for hidden reasons. She wanted to be like how they had been before, she wanted him to change. Was she more angry now with herself than with him? He had never promised her anything other than a professional partnership, he needed her skills and she earnt good coin with him. She enjoyed adventure and loved using the threat of battle to further her knowledge and skill. He enjoyed using her like a tool.   
She was angry at herself for thinking he could change, again. He had shown her who he was, unapologetically from the beginning. But she never listened.   
She slapped her own head. Why couldn’t she get it through her thick skull, he did not care for her like she did for him. She was once happy to just be by his side, fighting alongside him, forgetting about his true reasons for having her there. But not anymore. She couldn’t lie to herself for another minute.   
  
The door to the room burst open and Bulma looked over to see Vegeta heaving breath in and out of his chest.   
  
“Woman!” He said.

Bulma closed her eyes and looked away from him. She was done at this point. She couldn’t go on any longer like this.

“Throwing your mead on me? As if wasting good liquor was not bad enough!” He said shutting the door behind him.

She didn’t budge and he stopped talking. He just stood and watched her, waiting for her next move. After several minutes she finally gave him her answer. Bulma went to her bed and began gathering her things. Vegeta silently watched her pack her small bag. 

“So you’ve had enough? Back to the simple life? Are you punishing me?” He said.

Bulma slammed down her bag.

“Aren’t you finished punishing me?” She asked.

Vegeta flashed a look of confusion, then it melted into a scowl as he understood her meaning.

“I thought you always understood me?” Vegeta said.

Bulma laughed in anger, grabbed her bag and began walking out of the room. She past him as he grabbed her arm.   
  
“Let go of me!” She spat and pushed his grip away.

Vegeta just grabbed her with both arms, facing her away from him and into a bear hug. He held her tight until she stopped struggling.   
  
“Just let me go, I have nothing left to give you Vegeta” She said.

“You misunderstand me, typical of a woman” He said.

Bulma went slightly limp in his arms, no longer fighting back.

“I thought you always knew how much I needed you” Vegeta said softly.

“Ha, I’m just a tool to you, to further your ambitions” She said.

“No, I need you Bulma” He said leaning into her ear.   
  
She shivered.

“I could use anyone if that were true, but I always seek YOU out” He said.

His voice rumbled low and made her heart beat a skip.   


“I needed to leave, because everytime I witnessed you growing, it just made me want you more” He said, pulling her body into him more.

“Vegeta…” she said barely letting the words escape her lips.

“I was afraid of that hunger, more than I am of this damn curse. I had to pull away or I would have devoured you eventually” He said.

“I want you to devour me Vegeta” She finally said.   
  
He loosened his grip on her, and she turned to face him. He could see the tears building up in her eyes. She was gorgeous, just like always.

He lent down grabbing her face with each hand, kissing her hard. She wrapped her arms around him, pushing herself into him. The feeling of her lips, being able to express what he felt for her was amazing. His body clenched with desire for her, then as a cruel joke, the feeling appeared in his gut.    
The hunger, insatiable.   
  
He pushed her away as he felt the evil demon within try to claw its way out.   
  
“Not like this” He said looking away.    
  
“Wendigo?” Bulma asked.

Vegeta looked back at her with confirmation.

“This is why you are desperate to complete this job? It is why you put me in danger” Bulma confirmed.

Vegeta just nodded and Bulma sighed with relief. 


	7. Birsham

** Monster Hunter **   
  
**Chapter 6  
Birsham**   
  


The crisp, cool air managed to pierce through her woolen coat, she shivered trying to warm herself up. At least her butt was warm, she thought as she chuckled to herself.

Bulma’s eyes moved over to the back of Vegeta, he wasn’t sitting up as straight as he normally did. His wounds are still bothering him. Between the bear, the transformation and later the basilisk fight, he had taken a massive amount of physical damage. Worse than that, was the mental toll this curse was taking on him.    
After leaving the last village, Bulma had gathered more herbs and plants. Creating potions and skin balms for Vegeta’s wounds. As well as starting to make the tonics and mixture of ingredients to make an aroma to pull out the werewolf.    
  
“What do you know about this werewolf?” Bulma asked finally.   
  
Vegeta turned his head so she could see his profile.    
  
“As much as I have told you, when we reach Birsham we will meet with the payer of the job. We will be given more details then.” Vegeta said.

Bulma looked to the side of the road and watched the trees go by. All she knew of werewolves were the spells, potions and other alchemy associated with them. They may as well go into this battle with a blindfold on.

“Birsham has a famous library, I might do some research after we arrive” She said.

“What do you hope to find there?” Vegeta asked.

“Anything. Whatever I can find will help, right?” Bulma said.

Vegeta grunted in agreement. Now they were on a similar page, things had been going more smoothly for the two. However, Vegeta grabbed the reins hard when remembering the previous night's imagery. The feel of her body up against him, it triggered the hunger in him. Producing adversity by just being around her. He had not fully healed, and the physical pain made his mental fortitude feeble compared to what it once was. Vegeta had been so successful at hiding his feelings from the mage, she had mistaken his behaviour for a type of animosity.    
The curse had taken a lot from him, as well as his skills. He grew more desperate by the day to rid himself of it.

“Before we enter Birsham, I want to scope out the city. Are you still able to do that spell?” Vegeta smirked.

Bulma’s face swung around to meet his gaze. Her eyebrows frowned with menace.

“Why do you continuously insult me?” She said.

* * *

  
Bulma held out her arms, straight in front of her. Her palms pointed toward the sky. She softly mumbled an incantation as Vegeta felt a pressure in the air, flowing out like a droplet in the water.   
Vegeta sat behind her, resting his arm on his leg. Watching her, he felt his eyes go out of focus and close. He started to drift into his mind. Bulma had done this spell many times over the years, it was trance inducing for him and much welcomed.   
  
The city of Birsham below was on a large flat gully, surrounded by mountains on either side and a port town only half a day's trip away. It was a hub for travellers and merchants moving between the countries, carts and wagons seemed to stream endlessly out of the north and south gates, connecting the countryside to the modern city.    
The city itself had a large wall surrounding it, guarded by trained men twenty four hours a day. The upper side where the wealthy lived were big lots, with gardens that could be seen for miles. The trade district was bustling with smoke and movement, tents and shop marquees made for a colourful backdrop to a busy part of town.    
Birsham also had slums, on the western side of town. It was dark, and squalid dwellings were so compact it was hard to tell one from the next.    
  
After a time he felt the magic push begin to diminish from his skin, like a soft touch being withdrawn. He opened his eyes.

“All clear, I can feel a substantial gathering of magic coming from the council, that’s expected, and from a small point in the west part of town. Nothing to be concerned over at this point” Bulma said, stopping the spell and dropping her arms.   
Vegeta stood up behind her and reached into the pocket of his pants. He brought out a silver inconspicuous ring. Bulma blinked at it before realising he meant for her to take it. she slowly reached out and wrapped her hand around it. She expected it to be warm, coming straight from Vegeta's pocket. But it was ice cold. She opened her hand and looked at it, then back up at Vegeta. He was already walking over toward his horse.  
  
“The west part of town is our next destination.” Vegeta said.  


“The payer of the job is a magic user?” Bulma asked, following him.  


Vegeta shrugged as he reached out and stroked the horse's neck.  


“What, so you don’t even know that? What do you actually know about this person? This is giving me bad vibes Vegeta” Bulma said.

“Then don’t come, I can handle it on my own” Vegeta said.   
  
“Of course you can! All mighty great Monster Hunter Vegeta! I’ll leave you to your death then” Bulma spat out.

Vegeta let out a hearty laugh, then he pulled himself up onto his horse, and turned toward Bulma with his signature smirk. The sight erupted more fury inside Bulma’s belly and she clenched her fists hard, making the skin go white. All she could do was growl at him.   
  
“Do as you please, just don’t expect me to come running to your aid again” Vegeta said, kicking his horse into a slow trot away from her.

“You JERK!” Bulma yelled after him.   


* * *

“I need lodging for a few days, do you have any vacancies?” Bulma asked the Inn keeper.

He looked Bulma up and down, her clothes were still dirty from the fight with the two men and basilisk, there were even some blood stains from Vegeta. Bulma laughed nervously.    
  
“My travel companion is a Monster Hunter, we encountered a deadly beast tw days ago. We had not stumbled across any streams to clean before we came to the city. I do have the coin to pay for the room, I assure you” Bulma explained, holding up a bag of silver coins.   
  
“Then let me help you with your things Mam” The Innkeeper said.

Bulma smiled and followed the tall, burly looking man up the flight of stairs, to the rooms that held all kinds of travelers. He came to the front of one such room and dropped Bulma’s bags, reaching into his pocket with a key, he unlocked the room and swung the door open.    
The room was quite small, with two single beds, not much furniture and a big wooden barrel for bathing.    
  
“I will have one of the maids bring up some hot water for you mam” The Innkeeper said, looking her up and down one more time and then he left the room.   
  
Bulma sighed and went over to the bed, she sat down. Her muscles twitched at the pleasant spongy feel of the mattress. She groaned in pleasure as her muscles could relax from the long journey. It had been over a week since she last had a bath, she would enjoy it as much as she would enjoy the soft, comfy bed tonight.    
Vegeta would be pissed at the price she paid, but she would sleep under the stars before she went to an Inn in the slums.    
  
“I wonder if he has met the payer yet” She mumbled to herself.

* * *

The darkness that covered the alleyway was like a blanket. Thick and bleak. Vegeta took one last long look before he stepped into the alley. Meetings in an alleyway like this hardly ever turned out well, and Vegeta’s body was wounded, making his body extra sensitive to threats. Incited for a need for more knowledge he stepped out of the light and kept walking toward a towering black hooded man. His face covered by the blackness of the thin walkway.   
Vegeta stopped a few steps in front of him, standing as tall as he could.   
  
“So you're the payee of this job that I’m undertaking?” Vegeta asked.

“No, I am not” The tall man said.

His voice sounded disembodied, giving Vegeta a sinking feeling in his guts. Vegeta’s face washed over with a baffled expression.   
  
“I am his master's assistant. He was unable to meet you, he had urgent business to attend to. But I can guarantee you, the job is ready for you to start” The tall man said.   
  
“So I’m in the right alleyway” Vegeta said, leaning up against a wall. The hard feeling against his back put him at ease.

“Hilarious, I decided to meet you here because the job is a…. A sensitive matter” The tall man said.   
  
“So tell me about this sensitive job that your master needs done” Vegeta urged.

A small chuckle came from the blacked out hood. All of Vegeta's hairs stood up.   
  
“You will come to Stowe Fortress when you leave Birsham, there you will meet with my master, Count Betyn. There will be a supply package waiting for you and trained horses. We have been tracking the werewolf, and it seems to have settled into a nearby woodland” The man said.   
  
“The beast has made a den. What supplies will I have to work with?” Vegeta asked.   
  
“Not too much more than you have now, more arrows, knives, some newly developed armour from the east, another crossbow and some salves. But you won’t be needing any more salves now, will you?” The man asked curiously.

Vegeta tried to stop his face from betraying him. His whole body wanted out of that alleyway, the discomfort was painful. He gritted his teeth and kept his gaze directly at the hooded figure.   
  
“And what would you mean by that?” Vegeta asked.

“You have a mage with you, I believe her name is Bulma?”    
  



	8. Witch of Rotten Thicket

** Monster Hunter **

**  
Chapter 7  
Witch of Rotten Thicket**   
  


“You have a mage with you, I believe her name is Bulma?” the dark figure asked.

Vegeta chuckled his panic out of his body, the awkwardness of the question hit his gut anyway, however.

“Why am I not surprised? You have been following us?” Vegeta said.

“Not quite” The hooded figure replied.

Vegeta scowled at him.

“Look, who I do and don’t partner with is of no concern to you…” Vegeta started.

“And I will not masquerade the controlling employer, but I must warn you, you are best to leave her here” He said.

Vegeta’s eyebrow furrowed at the curious warning.

“She is a mage, why would I leave her here?” Vegeta asked.

“Call it, a friendly warning” he said, a lisp erupting at the end of his sentence, as if a tongue flickered and vibrated.

Vegeta came up off the wall, putting his hands by his side, flickering his fingers near his belted blades. The hooded figure began to cackle.

“Here is another sizable coin bag, to help with supplies, and heed my warning hunter leave the woman here” The figure said handing over another bag of coin.

* * *

Bulma rubbed the last of her balm over her forehead scar. The spell that turned her blood acidic had left a scar that her balms were having no luck reversing. The fact that she had limited uses of the spell and the scar on her forehead, made her deeply regret using it. But she wrestled with the idea, because it had helped save them. Perhaps, she contemplated, she should be grateful she was only left with a scar. Her thoughts leapt to an image of Vegeta’s naked torso, he was covered in pink and purple scars, from many years of protecting her. She grew hot with shame. 

Bulma ran her fingers over the rugged, hard skin. She smiled, it was the least she could do for him. She put her hands on either side of the tub and pushed herself out of the ever chilling water. She stepped out of the wooden barrel and wrapped a towel around herself, her hair slippery and wet, stuck to her arms. As she began to move the towel over her body, drying up the water still attached to her skin, the door started to unlock.   
  
“Shit!” She squealed.

The door flung open as she tried to hide herself from the hallway, behind an opened wardrobe door. Vegeta walked in, spotted her awkward pose, scrunched his nose at her and opened his mouth to talk.

“Shut the door!” She said quickly.

Vegeta walked in and shut the door behind him, he smirked as he realised she was naked except the small flimsy towel.

“I’m out doing real work and you take a bath?” He asked.

“I was dirty! Besides, the way people were looking at me, I had to clean up, it was embarrassing.” She said coming out from behind the wardrobe.

Her long, toned thighs were hardly being covered by the small towel, giving him a nice view of her curves. Bulma watched his eyes run across her body, she put her hands on her hips and frowned at him when he finally met her eyes. He smirked.

“Can I help you?” She asked.

“Tch.” He replied.

“Turn around then!” She said, pointing behind him.

Vegeta looked over her body one more time and turned around, crossing his arms in protest. Bulma walked over to her bed, grabbing a set of clean clothes from her rucksack, she dressed herself and hung the towel.

“How did the meeting go?” She finally asked.

Vegeta, with his back still turned, held his arm out, presenting a fat coin purse.

“Wow! Good job!” She said, walking up and grabbing the bag from his hand.    
  
Vegeta turned and faced her. He looked as if he was going to say something, but instead he walked past her, and proceeded to take off his long-sleeved shirt. Bulma smiled and giggled, bouncing the coins in her hand.   
  
“I’ll leave you to your nice warm bath!” She said waving as she walked out of the door.

She heard irate grunts explode behind the door as she walked down the Inn stairs, off to buy up the herbs and ingredients she needed for the job ahead.

When Bulma returned they had a quiet dinner inside the room, eager to keep away from prying eyes. Vegeta ate five times a normal amount of food, reducing their coin purse even further than she had. She lit some candles in the room, giving her enough light to be able to crush some herbs, readying her balm and ingredients for the upcoming battle. Vegeta watched her work from his bed, she enjoyed the quiet moments they shared, when they didn’t need to speak to one another. But she felt his eyes on her always.

After a few hours, Vegeta was asleep, sleeping soundlessly as she blew out the candles, jumped into her own bed and joined him in a deep sleep.

A firm, but gentle touch awoke her. She opened her eyes, the morning light helping her eyes adjust. Vegeta’s handsome face greeted her, she smiled and grabbed his hand.

“Get out of bed, you lazy wench!” He said.

Bulma’s face dropped, she threw his hand off her as he laughed.    
  
“I need my beauty sleep Vegeta!” She said, pulling the covers off herself.

He smirked at her and went back to packing the bags. Bulma lifted her nightgown up and over her head. She had a long sleeved undershirt and tights on underneath. The mornings were frosty and she shivered as she began to dress in leather tights and a long cotton over shirt. A hooded cloak went over the top, with a fur shawl.

“Can we pass by the woods? I still need some ingredients for the bomb, I couldn’t find them yesterday.” Bulma yawned.

Vegeta just grunted at her, throwing her rucksack at her. She smiled in amusement and followed him out of the room.

* * *

Hours out of town, riding their rested and fed horses, they stopped beside a meadow. Bulma walked down, searching for the plants she needed. Vegeta lent up against an old post, the sign had been warned down in the elements. He folded his arms across his chest and watched the mage bend down and gather the ingredients she was looking for. The horses were feeding on grass beside him as he enjoyed the warm midday sun.    
_   
_ _ “Hmmm, yes…” _

Vegeta looked around, it sounded like a woman's voice, seductive and inviting. He uncrossed his arms and stepped away from the post. The wind pushed from behind him and danced up his body, making his hair jump and rebound on itself. A sweet, intoxicating smell filled the air around him and intruded into his sinus.    
  
_ “Come to me hunter…” _

Darkness enveloped him.

* * *

The mindless job of picking roots out of the grass gave her a numbing feeling of comfort. Feeling the leaves and stems softly before removing the plants. The sun bore into her and warmed her considerably as she worked. She stood up straight and stretched high, her back cracking as she went. She massaged her head as the fuzziness diminished.    
Bulma looked around to see how far she had wandered, she tried to find Vegeta, but all she saw were the two horses, feeding amongst the long grass.    
  
“Vegeta?” She called.

Silence.

“Vegeta!?” She said again.

“He is long gone…” A small, high pitched voice said.

Bulma swung around trying to find its source. She saw no one.    
  
“Who said that?” She said.

“Down here!” The little voice came again. 

Bulma looked downwards, searching in the grass. She saw a big yellow flower, opened wide, soaking in the sun's rays. There, standing on the bud, was a tiny, olive in colour, winged creature.

“There you go!” It said waving.

“Oh my! A fairy!” Bulma squealed. 

She bent down so she could inspect it further. The little green wispy creature looked like an upgraded version of an insect with large eyes, tiny mouth and clear wings.

“My name is Lazuli” it proclaimed.

“Nice to meet you Lazuli, I’m Bulma” She said smiling.

“Are you looking for the broody, handsome, black haired man?” Lazuli asked.

“Yes, did you see where he went?” She asked.

“The Witch has him” The little creatures answered.

Bulma looked at him curiously. 

“A witch?” She asked.

“Not just your ordinary run of the mill, ugly old crone… The Witch of Rotten Thicket!” Lazuli proclaimed.


	9. Raw magic

**Monster Hunter **

**Chapter 8  
Raw magic**

The long grass blades swirled and bounced as the pressure from her spell pushing and pulling them around her shins. With her palms up facing the sky, her eyes closed, she pushed her will outward like a ripple. The information came back like a bleep, a black spot, one she could not penetrate.

“It seems you found her,” Lazuli said, resting on her shoulder.

“So that is where she lives?” Bulma asked, lowering her arms and opening her eyes.

Lazuli flew off her shoulder and landed on the saddle of one of the horses. 

The bug-like creature shrugged. “I’ve never been close to her home, but it makes sense that she would block out any magical location spell” The little green Fae said.

Bulma nodded in agreement. 

“What can you tell me about the Witch?” Bulma asked.

Lazuli hummed, rubbing its head, as it tried to force the memories to the forefront.

“All I really know is she used to serve an emperor, until she was hexed by another of her kind. She wears the scar of the battle, but her magic changed and shifted” Lazuli said.

“Her magic changed? Was it tainted?” Bulma asked.

Lazuli shrugged again. “We Fae have ancient powers, something that existed long before your magic did. Magic is unstable and ugly, we are unsure of how it works” Lazuli explained.

“Unstable…” Bulma whispered to herself.   
  
She was always confused by this statement, echoed to her by her own teacher. She found magic comforting and natural, something that filled every part of her. She would never describe it as unstable. The fact that they could change the world around them, bend it to their will, was powerful, it came at a cost. But she always felt in control.   
  
“You humans are still so young” The fairy laughed.

Bulma’s face repositioned, irritation burning through.

“Maybe we are! But the force of change never stops and only the irrelevant fade into the background” She said.

A small, dainty growl escaped the small green creature. The Fae was undeniably cute when it was angry. Bulma’s mood shifted quickly as she smiled and giggled

“Who are you calling irrelevant?!” Lazuli huffed.

“Come now Lazuli, I need your ancient Fae power to help me pierce through her barriers! She won’t suspect a highly evolved, astute creature like a fairy to help me…” Bulma said, in her most thickly sweet voice.

Lazuli’s cheeks darkened and the little creature looked away from Bulma.

* * *

The darkness was intensified by the shaking body beside him. The fear was engulfing his body into panic, but the mind numbing terror froze him in place like a statue. He could hardly breathe in, his whole body was so solidly suspended.

The sound of the scales, scraping across the ground as the sound of a forked tongue flicking vibrated in the air.  
The fear grew inside his body as the sound became louder.   
  
“Don’t move son, no matter what!” A voice hummed through the darkness beside him.

The fear that gripped his mind soon turned to dread. He understood what his father meant by the tone in his voice, regardless of being too young to yet understand the true meaning behind the words.   
  
“Father…” He whispered.

 _Oh I see… This is where the hatred comes from for our kind_ _  
_ _  
_ The penetrating voice seemed to come from within him, making the world swirl into different stains of grey. The fear and dread circling down and washing into an overtaking sense of confusion. He found himself questioning where he was, so far now from his childhood.

“Bulma?” He asked.

The voice laughed and sneered.

 _That mage has left you, like all the people before her…_ _  
_ _  
_ Vegeta felt a pang in his chest spike his heart. She had left him here? In this confusing, frightful place. The emptiness that existed inside him began to grow, it was just the very moment the beast inside him was waiting for, the devilish spirit begin to claw its way up to take over his consciousness. It’s abhorrent, rapacious hunger propelling it ever forward.   
  
_What is this…_

* * *

The trees grew closer together, making it almost impossible for her to crawl between them, the vines began to turn black, seemingly shriveling up and dying. She pushed her hand onto a large tree trunk and used it to move her body through the last gap.

“This is where I would have met the barrier with my….” Bulma started.

“The rotten thicket…” Lazuli whispered into her ear as the little Fae sat on her shoulder.

A thick dark green, oozing brush covered and consumed every tree and plant around the entrance and border of the thicket. Making it impossible to get through, the smell of the rotting vegetation had an animalistic decaying nature to it. Bulma grabbed her nose and coughed at the pungent fumes.

“She sure didn’t want anyone intruding!” Bulma said.

“Clever tactic, how are you going to get in?” Lazuli asked.

“Oh I have a certain tactic exactly for this very circumstance!” Bulma grinned.

Bulma raised her hand, opening her palm up while she stretched her fingers to the sky. Her body temperature grew exponentially as a bright orange light began to shine from her palm. Flames began to lick around her hand as if it was alight.

“WOW!” Lazuli jumped up and down on her shoulder in excitement.

Bulma launched the fire ball toward the rotten thicket, blasting its noxious fumes aflame. Bulma looked down at the Fae on her shoulder. His dark eyes glowing red from the spectacular show.   
  
“Let’s see her barrier survive that!” Bulma said, clenching her fists in determination.   
  
Lazuli grinned at her.

“Go get her Bulma!” He egged her on.

They waited for the flames to move through the border and die down in a crumbling ashy graveyard. Bulma pushed her way through the burnt vegetation until they found a small dirty pathway leading further into the thicket.

The path grew smaller as they came closer to the interior, they pushed through one last vine covered barrier before the thicket opened up into a glade. Light was penetrating through cracks in the canopy above, highlighting the small dwelling, made from mud, old tree trunks and sticks. Skulls and decaying animal corpses adored the hut like decorations. Bulma grabbed at her nose again, offended by the smell of the glade.

“Woow, this is where she lives… disgusting!” Lazuli said, flying off Bulma’s shoulder.

“Can you see anyone?” Bulma asked as they both began to walk around.

_You foolish mage, you should have forgotten about the possessed hunter…_

Bulma flung her body around at all different angles. Trying to find the source of the creepy voice that invaded her mind.

“Where is he? Witch!” Bulma yelled.

A cackling sound pricked her ears, bouncing around inside Bulma’s eardrums. She grabbed at her ears, trying to shield them from the pain.   
  
_Leave this place, before I use your bones and guts for my potions!_

“Never! Come out and face me like a woman!” Bulma yelled.

The sun strangely faded, eclipsing the area into a red hue. The ground began to rumble below Bulma, threatening to break apart as a black figure began to materialize in a smokey entrance mere metres away from her. Bulma’s eyes darted at the figure as she braced her hands for a defensive spell.   
The crone appeared, hair wild and black, her skin sickly white it was almost translucent, except for her lips and the hallows of her eye sockets. They were black and soulless. 

“He is mine, mage! You best leave this place!” The witch said.

“Over my dead body!” Bulma growled.

“How fitting…” The witch laughed as her body vanished again.   
  
Bulma’s eyes darted around again, waiting for her to reappear.

“Bulma, below!” Lazuli yelled. 

Bulma shot her palms down and set her hands on fire again. The witch's face appeared between her feet and she launched the flames at her.   
Her face caught fire and started to melt as her screams pierced Bulma’s ears again.

The witch vanished once more.

“Lazuli, you can see her?” Bulma asked.

“Yes, I can see the 5th dimension she is in” Lazuli answered from behind her.   
  
“Where is she?” Bulma asked.

“She retreated to the back of the house” Lazuli said pointing past her face.

Bulma began to move, pushing her legs forward, she rounded the side of the house and stopped dead in her tracks.

The witch was there, with Vegeta in her arms. Her disgustingly filthy hands held a knife up to the unconscious hunters throat. 

“One more move and I’ll slice open his artery” The witch cackled.

“Don’t you dare hurt him!” Bulma growled.

“You have no idea what he has become have you?” The witch asked.

“What do you mean? What have you done?!” Bulma hissed.

“Not me, the spirit inside him… It devours him with each passing moment, you stupid girl, you have no idea do you?” The witch hissed back.

“I know all about it! I will help him rid himself of it!” Bulma said.

The witch threw her head back in a horrible, unnatural contort, as if her whole torso had disjointed from itself. The sight made Bulma’s skin crawl, the unsettling scene made her stomach turn. The witch flung her head back up over her shoulders.

“There is only one way to rid him of this spirit!” The witch said.

“How?!” Bulma demanded.

The witch pulled her arm out and plunged the knife into Vegeta’s chest. Gurgling sounds escaped his mouth as she twisted it inside him. 

Bulma’s eyes widened in rage, her eyes flashed white as the emotion overtook her. She felt the stinging pain overwhelm her muscles as her consciousness began to shut down and her instincts began to overrule her control.   
The burning magic inside her very soul set alight. Her whole body exploded in a blazing shield of white energy.   
  
“No… this mage, her power, it couldn’t be!” The witch said, dropping Vegeta’s body.

His lifeless body hit the ground with a cold, dead thud. Bulma screamed with such wrath it sounded as if her lungs would explode. The witch backed up away from the enraged mage.   
  
“Bulma!” Lazuli yelled trying to fly toward her.

He was pushed away by the sheer might of her violent madness. The witch began to materialize, but she was too slow as Bulma swept her arm across her body, hitting the left side of the witch, instantly destroying her whole arm, part of her shoulder and opening up her chest cavity before the Witch’s body disappeared in a black mist.   
A blood curdling squeal erupted and faded with the witch's body.   
  
“BULMA!” Lazuli screamed, trying to snap her out of her rage.

The mage stopped, heaving from breathing hard, the white light fading slowly as she looked down at Vegeta’s motionless body. Lazuli shot out a green wisp of light from his hands, then flew around Bulma’s head and slowly sunk into her skin and hair.

She flung around, her eyes still white with fury. The spell seemingly at least made her consciousness come back to the front of her mind. The blinding rage fading from her face.  
  
“Can you save him Lazuli?!” She asked.

The little bug creature swallowed hard and flew toward her.

“I’ve never attempted it on a human…” He started, landing on Vegeta’s body.

“Just do it!” Bulma demanded.

* * *

  
A searing pain hit his chest as he gasped for air, trying to inflate his lungs once again.   
  
“VEGETA!” Bulma screamed into his face.

He winced at the volume of her voice, he tried to move his hands up to his face.   
  
“Don’t move, you’ve been brought back from the brink of death, your body needs to fully recover” Vegeta heard a small voice say.

He tried to open his eyes, but the blinding sun was blurring his vision.

“Bulma?” He managed after two deep breaths.

“I’m here…” She sounded distressed.

“What happened… I… I don’t…” He started, feeling her hand slide onto his face softly.

“Shh… don’t try to talk, just rest. I will explain everything” She sobbed through tears.

The cold drops hit his cheeks as his eyes finally focused enough for him to make out her beautiful, saddened face.


	10. Rage

**Monster Hunter   
Chapter 9  
Rage**

Flames licked and hissed at the air, illuminating the scene around the camp the group had made for the night. Vegeta was curled up in blankets beside the fire, absorbing its warmth as he slept.    
Orange hues covered Bulma’s skin as she watched the dancing fire.   
  
“The witch… she said something odd” Bulma said finally.

Lazuli looked up at her from a rock nearby, the small creature also trying to devour the warm air from the flames.

“She spoke as if she knew you…” Lazuli added.

“That’s impossible, I have never met a witch” Bulma said.

The little creature swung its body around to face her. “But aren’t mages and witches the same?” Lazuli asked.

Bulma shook her head. “No, we are different. Mages are scholars of magic, we learn magic through practice and our own natural talent. Witches sell themselves to the natural world to obtain power. We can have similar powers, but the way we use that power is different” Bulma said.

“The witch was using power from the 5th dimension, it was dark and evil” Lauli said.

“Yes, she had been engulfed by black magic. It disfigured her. I wonder what happened to her” Bulma asked, putting her chin on her knees.

“Or how she knew your power?” Lazuli said.

Bulma hummed in agreement. Her power, her talent for magic was average at best. An electric shiver went up her spine, making her body shake as she remembered the feeling of the white flames around her body. She reached up to her forehead and tried to feel the rough, bumpy skin from her forehead scar. The skin was supple and smooth. Bulma took in a sharp breath and moved her hand away. Her scar was gone, had it been healed? She expected the scar to remain for the rest of her days, reminding her of why she had to use the ancient defensive spell. Even her balms would make little progress on healing the scarred tissue. But it seemed the transformation she went through, watching Vegeta be mortally wounded, had healed her scar.   
  
“Bulma?…” Lazuli asked.

“Yes?” She answered.

“What happened to you, after she… she stabbed the male?” Lazuli asked.

Bulma looked away from the little magical bug. She closed her eyes and tried to push the overwhelming sense of dread she was feeling about the memory down back into the depths of her stomach.    
  
“I don't know…” Bulma answered.   
  
The night was long and bitter, Bulma hardly got any real sleep, getting up every few hours to put more wood onto the fire and to check on Vegeta’s wound. Vegeta had slept through the afternoon and night after Lazuli had treated him with his Fae magic.   
In the morning, as the sun rose and the fire dwindled, Bulma looked for Lazuli, but he had vanished.    
Vegeta’s body began to stir beside the dying fire.   
  
“Vegeta…” Bulma called out softly, walking over to him and squatting down.

Vegeta grabbed at his forehead, as if trying to stop the pounding that was going on inside his skull.

“What happened?” He moaned.

“You were captured and entranced by a witch, while I picked herbs in the field.” Bulma said.   
  
“I was? I’ve been having horrible nightmares” Vegeta said sitting up.

“That’s to be expected, a magical hangover will do that,” Bulma said.

Vegeta moved slightly and winced, grabbing at his chest. He softly stroked the bandages that covered most of his torso.

“Oh… and she stabbed you” Bulma said, standing up.

“What?! Why wouldn’t you lead with that?” Vegeta barked, wincing again at the pain that shot through him.

Bulma shrugged and went back to packing up their belongings.

“How did you heal me?” Vegeta asked.

“I didn’t, Lazuli did” Bulma said.

“What is a Lazuli?” Vegeta asked.

Bulma chuckled. “A little Fae that I met in the meadow, though, I don’t know where it has gone” Bulma said looking around again.

“You let a Fae cast magic on me!?” Vegeta hissed.

Bulma swung around and glared at him, red rising to her skin's surface. “What the hell was I meant to do? Let you die? Vegeta that wound was fatal!” Bulma said, pointing at his chest.

Vegeta grabbed at the bandages again, he looked like he was struggling to breath.

“Now, just relax, you shouldn’t get so worked up! You’re not out of the woods yet” Bulma said.

Vegeta scowled at her and laid back down.

“The witch had you, knife to your neck. I had her cornered and she was going to kill you. She also said something about the Wendigo” Bulma said.

“What did she say?” Vegeta asked.

“That there wasn’t any way to cure you of the curse” Bulma said.

Vegeta looked over at her, she had stopped packing up and was looking down at her feet, fists clenched.

“Vegeta, what if…”    
  
“No, we will find a way” He said, cutting her off.

* * *

The drumming of the horses hooves were strangely soothing, without the strong bumps and knocks, he could have easily fallen asleep again. The midday sun beat down through the trees, warming the top of his skull and sending him in a tired daze, a sharp pain inside his chest kept him from closing his eyes and never waking up.

Bulma was on her horse in front of him, leading his horse along the old, weathered road through the woods. He felt as though he had been asleep for weeks, the past 24hrs being a complete blur of nightmares and memories he had long pushed and buried within his mind.   
He hadn’t thought about his parents since he was a boy. So far down had he pushed his memories that he had forgotten why he was even fighting the evil and darkness of the world.    
Was it because of her? What she did that night.   
Bulma turned around and looked at Vegeta, as if sensing his internal turmoil.

“I think we should stop and change your dressings.” She said stopping the horses.   
  
They made their way into the woods, walking a few hundred metres until they met a small stream, pushing through large river rocks.   
Bulma secured the horses to a tree as Vegeta winced his way off the horse, resolute in refusing her offers to help. He was going to do it on his own, his wounded body be damned.

He lowered himself down onto the soft, lush grass as Bulma grabbed items from her pack.   
He put his arms backwards, holding himself up with his wrists and shoulders. Clenching his abdominals made him wince from the pain inside his torso.   
Bulma walked over and sat beside him, he felt her soft warm hands caress his skin and unwrap his bandages with care. He looked at her face, her eyes were glazed with tears as she tried not to look at him. After she unwrapped the last bandage and his wound was unveiled, tears over spilled and ran down her face.

“What is it?” He asked.

Bulma sniffed, ostensibly not able to look him in the eyes. Vegeta reached over to her cheek, and ran his fingers over her now wet skin. He pulled her chin up toward him. She closed her eyes, forcing tears to erupt.

“What is it, silly woman, I’ve been wounded many times before” He said softly.

Bulma pulled away her face from his hand and looked down at her thighs, resting her fists on them.

“I thought you… you were dead this time” She whispered.

Vegeta chuckled softly, and then visibly flinched from the pain. Bulma grabbed at his arms.

“Don’t laugh, I’m being serious! And stop moving!” Bulma said, wiping away her tears and grabbing her antiseptic balm.    
  
“Then stop being dramatic” Vegeta said, pushing his head back and looking up at the sky.

Bulma worked in silence, gently covering his wound in balm as he tried not to move a muscle, he didn’t want to upset her anymore. She obviously took his current position personally, as if she was the reason for it.

But he was a monster hunter, it came with the territory. She was always understanding of that, patching him up time and time again. Without tears. He closed his eyes and let his mind wonder over the past 24hrs. He wished he could remember what had happened and what was said.

“Ever since I came back to be with you, you have been hurt with more and more severity” Bulma finally said.

“You are not the reason I have been hurt” Vegeta said, not opening his eyes.   
  
He heard her sniffing again beside him, fighting to keep her emotions in.

“The bear, the basilisk… stopping in the meadow, If not for me” Bulma started.

“I would be dead,” Vegeta said looking back at her again.

“No, you would have been safe, I am a distraction. I shouldn’t be coming with you, I’ll only make it more dangerous!” Bulma shouted, hitting her fists in her lap.    
  
Vegeta felt his breath leave his lungs as she expressed the exactly the same worry the man in the hooded figure warned him of. He sat up and grabbed her arms, he cried out in pain as he moved. He began to breath hard.

“Vegeta… Stop moving” Bulma said through tears.

“I need you with me” Vegeta said through laboured breaths.

“I will give you all the bombs and potions I have made” Bulma said.

“No, Bulma” Vegeta said.

He reached out for her face again, pushing her jaw upwards. She looked into his eyes as she cried. An overwhelming sense of duty washed over him, he just wanted her close. He had pushed her away before, but this time he wouldn't make that mistake again, he would protect her.   
  
“This isn’t like you, what has happened?” Vegeta asked.

“Something happened, when the witch stabbed you” Bulma said softly.

Vegeta watched her lips curl into a frown.

“The world went dark, I lost control and something else took over. I couldn’t control myself, I had pure hatred toward her, I tore her body in half before she retreated to the other dimension. And It felt good...” Bulma said.

Vegeta smirked.

“That’s all?” He asked.

“Vegeta! Stop it, you know I don’t enjoy killing, I...” Bulma yelled trying to pull away from him.

He grabbed her arms and pulled her into him, he lent in and kissed her hard. He felt her cheeks burn against his skin as she relented and kissed him back. She reached up to his arms and squeezed them. He parted his lips and hungrily slipped his tongue inside her mouth, searching for hers as she slid her tongue across his keenly. She moaned as he moved his hands up her arms, feeling her goosebumps as he cupped her face.    
Vegeta pulled away from their kiss as they both breathed heavily. Bulma bit her lip, looking at him longingly. He felt his heart race at the site of her desire for him, he tried to push back at his own craving for her. She let go of his arms and slumped backwards

“It’s ok to be apprehensive of your own power, but don’t confuse it with fear.” He said.

Bulma’s face sank and flushed red with embarrassment. The fleeting moment between them comforting and holding her from internalising what had happened.

  
“I have a horrible feeling, like something bad is going to happen If I continue with you” she said, hugging herself.   
  
“Bad stuff always happens, what makes this any different?” He asked her as he leaned back again.

“What the witch said, about you, about me” Bulma said.   
  
“I’ve been looking all over for you two!” A high pitched voice suddenly chirped from behind them.

Bulma and Vegeta swung their heads around to be met with the sight of a small green Fae. Its wings fluttering to keep it airborne.

“Lazuli!” Bulma said sitting up to her knees.

“The blasted thing followed us?!” Vegeta hissed.

“Vegeta! That Fae saved your life!” Bulma yelled back at him.

“I came back from grabbing this,” Lazuli said holding up a green leaf. “And you were gone!”    
  
Bulma smiled warmly at him.   
  
“I thought you had left us, so we began moving on to our next job” Bulma said.

The green creature folded its arms and grunted in acceptance of her explanation. 

“Well, this leaf will help the man's injuries. I don’t have enough knowledge about the human body to repair the rest, but this…” Lazuli said, holding up the plant.

“Great work!” Bulma said.

“Oh no you don’t! That leaf will go nowhere near me!” Vegeta hissed.

“Vegeta, what is your problem?!” Bulma yelled back.

“Tell me Fae, why are you still in this realm? Why haven’t you joined your kind?!” Vegeta asked rapidly.

“I can travel between them, that’s where this came from” Lazuli said.

“Well in that case, you can fuck right off with it!” Vegeta said, crossing his arms.  
  
"Rude!" Lazuli said sticking out his tongue.  


“Vegeta, he is only trying to help! Besides, we can’t move on to the next job until you recover, and, who knows how long that will take?” Bulma said.

“That leaf is not of this world Bulma, we don’t have any idea what it will do!” Vegeta said.

“Lazuli healed you, without knowing what would happen, and here you are, you have to try!” Bulma said.

“Absolutely not!” Vegeta said.

“Well actually, I do know what this will do on a human…” Lazuli said.

“What?” Bulma Vegeta said in unison. 

“I saw the witch use it, back when she first came to the woods” Lazuli explained.

“She could go between the dimensions,” Bulma said to Vegeta.

Vegeta began to complain further, but was knocked over by the pain in his chest. He grabbed at his flesh and hissed in pain.

“Vegeta!” Bulma sighed in frustration.“Just take the damn medicine!”    
  


* * *

_ What is this…  _ _   
_ _   
_ The wendigo spirit pushed its way forward, enveloping his mind in a black sludge. He felt his mind slow down as if time was being paused, his body changing and morphing into the creature. He screamed out in pain as his tendons and muscles contorted and horns shot out from his skull.    
  
_ You were hiding this power, no, this curse inside you hunter? No wonder you felt so powerful, I shall feast on it as well. _

Vegeta tried to move his body, but the witch and the wendigo were fighting for dominance. He scrambled to hold onto consciousness as they muddled and forced their way into his mind. His body wasn’t reacting to his call, it was moving without his will. He tried hard not to let the wendigo engulf him completely, it had never come this far before. The witch's force was only giving it more authority to consume him.

_ If I continue, it will devour your soul. I can’t have that, now can I? _ _   
_ _   
_ Instantly the pressure he felt from outside diminished. Allowing his consciousness to flood his systems again. He fought back with the wendigo, his sheer determination shut down its control as his reflexes began to obey again. He screamed in frustration as the last of the wendigo’s will was washed away from his psyche. He inhaled hard, his body physically exhausted. 

_ Interesting, it has already buried itself within your mind and body. Is it a… parasite? No, it could survive without you. Hmmm, very intriguing.  _

“Who are you?” Vegeta managed to call out into the darkness.

A cackle erupted in his mind.

_ Never mind dear hunter, this is where your story ends. I’m going to do what dear Mummy should have done long ago. _ _   
_ _   
_ “How do you know what happened to my mother?” Vegeta growled.    
  
He swung out into the darkness, trying to reach the voice. The cackle exploded out again.    
  
_ I was the one to encourage her rage, I convinced her of her husband's betrayal, poor little woman _ _   
_ _   
_ Vegeta felt the rage begin to fill his senses as the realisation came to the front of his mind. The memory of his mother, the night she killed his father. Her disgusting body, transformed into scales and muscle, her face mutated into reptilian features. His breathing increased as he gasped for air.   
  
“No” He managed to get out.   


_ Oh yes, Vegeta.  _

“Then I will find you, and I will kill you” He growled.

_ As long as that spirit resides inside you, it will gain more and more strength, you will never rid yourself of it. And you will become what you hate! _ _   
_ _   
_ The screeching of her voice woke him. He shot up, yelling from the physical pain in his chest and the lingering, painful memories.    
  
“Vegeta?” Bulma said quietly next to him.

He breathed hard and looked over at her. He was met with the eyes of Bulma and the Fae, Lazuli. Reality slowly fell over him, bringing him back to the present.

“It was only a dream, don’t bother yourself with me” He said between breaths.

He heard her mumble to herself and settle back into her blanket. He looked down at his hands, they shook involuntarily, he tried to steady them. But they ignored his commands.   
  
_...You will become what you hate! _ _   
_ _   
_ Vegeta closed his eyes hard, trying to drain the memory of the witch's voice from his mind. Did that really happen, or was it really just a dream? Bulma had relayed words of the witch similar to them. Could she really then, be the reason his mother was transformed by rage all those years ago?    
He sighed, clenching his hands into a fist. He had to retain his resolve, first the wendigo spirit inside him must be expelled, then he could concentrate on what the witch had said.   
If she really was the reason, the catalyst for his entire life, he would find her and kill her himself.


	11. Werewolf heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for my slight hiatus. I should upload a chapter each fortnight.

**Monster hunter  
Chapter 10**

_ Werewolf heart _

“Wooow, it’s huge!” Lazuli said from Bulma’s shoulder.

“It’s a fortress, what did you expect?” Bulma asked.   
  
Lazuli ignored her and looked around in awe. Vegeta considered the bug-like creature, his instincts had been provoked by the small creature, ever since he awoke from the witch’s spell. He had come across numerous Fae in his time, and never had it ended well. This little bastard had Bulma convinced he was a cute little animal. He risked alerting his own knowledge of Fae if he warned Bulma. A plan to continue to monitor them both was made quickly in his mind, his eyes would always be on the winged beast.

“Bulma, can you scan the area”    
  
She turned around and nodded to him, raising her palms she began her magical tracker, pushing out her will. It took her moments before she stopped her spell and turned back to him.   
  
“I can’t… I don’t understand...” She said, eyebrows frowning.   
  
“What do you mean? Is it blocked?” Vegeta asked.

“No”   


“I sense it too, something is off” Lazuli growled.

“It’s as if there are millions of different signals, and none at all, at the same time” Bulma said.

“How can that be possible?” Vegeta asked.

“It’s not”   
  
Vegeta took in a breath and looked up at the grey washed stone fortress, its sharp peaks towering into the sky above them. If he was honest, something felt off about the structure and the air pressure surrounding it. He had felt it before, his body was reacting viscerally to the memories of the evil things he had faced before. He glanced over and met Bulma’s eyes. She was concerned, he could feel it. But what choice did they have? The hooded figure's warning to him shot into his mind's eye.   
  
_“You are best to leave her here…”_   
  
His slightly lisped voice rebounded inside Vegeta’s mind. It wasn’t only the Fae tripping off his instincts today. He would be on guard, he would protect her, he would be prepared for anything. Vegeta pumped himself up enough to make his move.

“Let’s go” Vegeta said, stomping up the stone pathway.

Bulma and Lazuli exchanged looks and followed the hunter.    
  


* * *

  
“You made it Monster Hunter, and I see you have guests” The hooded figure said.

Vegeta stopped before him, surrounded by a large overgrown courtyard. The mysterious man was alone, sent to meet them. Vegeta crossed his arms and remained silent.   
  
“If you follow me, my Master will see you” He bowed slightly sweeping his hand to motion them to follow him.

Vegeta looked back at Bulma. She both nodded wearily at him. The Fae was concealed within her cloak, Vegeta found himself swearing if it revealed itself he would kill it. He turned and followed the hooded figure into the main building. The group passed through tight stone walkways and up many sets of stairs before they entered the main hall via what seemed a back entrance.    
A man sat upon a throne at the head of the hall, purple carpets and hanging curtains adorned the space, as well as painted portraits. Dark hair hung down and framed his narrow face. Dark eyes followed their movements.   
  
“May I present your payee, Viscount Eadmond, lord of Stowe.” The hood figure said owing to his Master.    
  
Vegeta and Bulma followed suit and bowed. Edmond began to laugh, waving his hand.

“No need for such pleasantries, we have important matters to discuss”    
  
“Your lordship, I am Vegeta, this is Bulma she is a mage I work w….”   
  
“A mage?” The Viscount interrupted and stood up. “Niraj, you didn’t tell me he had a mage with him!”    
  
The sudden change in the man’s tone gave chills down Vegeta back. His eyes darted to the hooded figure. Glowing green eyes watched Vegeta with curiousity.    
  
“My apologies Master, It must have slipped my mind” Niraj said.   
  
“Is that a problem?” Bulma interjected.

Vegeta glared at her.   
  
“Not at all my dear, I have an unnatural fascination of your kind” He said.   
  
“Where shall we find this werewolf that intrudes on your lands?” Vegeta said quickly, changing the subject.

“Ah yes, the werewolf. Niraj…” The Viscount said, waving his hands again.

“Here you will find the beast's last known location, we have more supplies for you to browse if you find it necessary” Niraj said, handing Vegeta a map.    
  
“We are well stocked” Vegeta turned to the Viscount and bowed. “We take our leave now your lordship, we will return with the beasts head”    
  
Vegeta turned away, grabbing Bulma’s arm slyly as he passed her. She opened her mouth to say something. But the look Vegeta shot her, made her seal her lips again. She turned and followed him.   
  
“One more thing Hunter…”    
  
Vegeta turned his head, looking over his shoulder.

“Be sure to return quickly to the fortress, there are… monsters out there that come out at night and I fear they may be too strong for you to handle” Niraj said, his eyes piercing through Vegeta.

Vegeta eyeballed the hood figure for another moment before turning around and leaving the huge hall.

* * *

  
“This is the place marked out on the map Vegeta, what do you think?” Bulma asked as Lazuli floated in front of the map with her.    
  
Vegeta bent down, surveying the ground. He ran his fingers through some fresh tracks.   
  
“Yes, this is definitely from a paw. It’s den must be close by” He said standing up.

“Vegeta, I have a bad feeling about this. That man, The Viscount, and that Niraj…” Bulma said folding the map and putting it back inside her bag.

“Yeah, something fishy is going on!” Lazuli added, fluttering about.   
  
“Regardless of what you feel, we have to finish this job” Vegeta said, turning toward them.

“Didn’t you feel something strange?” Bulma asked.

Lazuli landed on her shoulder, Vegeta watched the Fae listen intently for his answer. No, he wouldn’t let that little spawn know his thoughts. Even if it meant leaving Bulma in the dark.    
  
“No, now come on! You need to concentrate on the job!” Vegeta said.

The continued on through the forest, diverging from the path and following the werewolves tracks. Vegeta pushes past the overgrown trees to step into a small grove. He stopped dead in his tracks, bewildered by what he saw.    
  
“Is that a cart?” Bulma asked, stepping into the grove next to Vegeta.   
  
“How did it get here? It’s fresh, the trees have not grown around it” Vegeta said, walking toward it.    
  
He rounded the cart and saw a large cage that had been pushed over the side. His mind raced, his thoughts were muddled.    
  
“What is going on?” He murmured to himself.

He touched the cage, it was made of oak and steel. Well crafted and it had not been in the elements long. He turned his head as he heard Bulma approach from behind him.

“Now do you believe me!?” She asked.

Vegeta looked back at the cart, no tracks led to it. His thoughts were thrown into chaos.

“Bulma! Watch out!” Lazuli called out from atop the cart.

A mammoth bulky, furred covered body was barreling toward the mage. She managed to raise her arms with barely enough time to ignite the magic within her. She rushed a force field of air out of her palms, hitting the creature and sending it backwards.   
Vegeta grabbed his crossbow and elevated it to his eye level.    
  
“Get under the cart!” He demanded. 

He heard Bulma’s footsteps as he took aim. The creature quickly regained its momentum and took its first stride toward Vegeta. He focused and slowed down his breath, releasing his shot with his exhale.    
The bolt screamed through the air, piercing the tough fur and exploding the side of the skull. The werewolves mass fell to the ground, twitching violently.    
  
“Wooow!” Lazuli said, screaming past Vegeta.   
  
Vegeta reached out to the Fae to try and stop it. But something pulled him back.    
  
_ “Don’t eat the heart”  _   
  
Vegeta eyes widened at the internal voice. Did he really just hear that? He looked over to Bulma who was crawling out from under the cart. She seemed unfazed by the voice. Did that mean it was in his mind?   
  
_ “I forbid you” _ _   
_ _   
_ Dropping his crossbow to his side, he looked down at his feet. Who was speaking to him? As he struggled over what the voice was and how it was possible to be hearing it, the hunger began. Rage and malice came up from his belly and clenched at his throat.   
The Wendigo. It was responsible for the voice, of course. It would do anything to keep him from eating that heart and expelling it. 

“You killed it, so easily” Bulma said beside him.    
  
She had gotten up and moved towards him while he had his internal struggle.    
  
“It couldn’t have been that easy Vegeta!” Bulma declared.

_ “If you consume that heart, we will both perish!”  _ _   
_ _   
_ His jaw clenched with rage. The battle of control over his body had begun, now was his time to rid this spirit for good. He could feel the panic flooding his system as the Wendigo tried to force him from taking action.    
  
“No, It must have been tracking us. I’m just that good of a shot!” Vegeta smirked at Bulma.

“Don’t be an idiot! Vegeta! Consider all that’s happened today!” Bulma said.

She reached out to grab him, but he managed to slip from her grip. He took steps toward the motionless beast, bending down he grabbed a knife from his belt. The knife penetrated the flesh with a moisten gurgle. Wails of disgust erupted behind him as Bulma covered her ears.    
  
“Vegeta… Please, don’t”    
  
The sharp blade ripped through the chest cavity and he pulled out the heart. It was still balmy as blood coated his skin. Vegeta took one last look at Bulma who was covering her mouth with her hands. Her skin a sickly white colour.

“Don’t…” She muttered.

_ “I forbid it!” _   
  
Vegeta brought the heart up to his face and sunk his teeth into it, ripping the muscles with his incisors. He chewed a few times, deciding it was too tough he just swallowed it. The feeling of the heart slipping down his throat felt strange and morbid. But he forced himself on. Taking larger bites, he managed to devour the whole thing.    
He stood up, holding his hands out, expecting some sort of shift, or change. Maybe even pain. But all he felt was, nothing.

Complete nothingness. 


End file.
